Lessons from mobile gaming applied to CPG brand engagement

User engagement is critical to driving brand loyalty. Mobile gaming can offer a unique perspective on how consumer packaged goods firms can engage their consumers.

I recently had the chance to speak with my friend Gregg Carey, co-founder and VP operations for Voxy, a personalized mobile platform to help native Spanish speakers learn English through everyday life experiences (check out Voxy.com). I consider Gregg an expert at mobile technology and I thought I would take advantage of our friendship to gain perspective on how he believes CPG brands can better leverage mobile platforms to gain brand loyalty. Here are the key takeaways of our conversation.

It all boils down to user engagement. Engaging users in two or multi-way interaction is far more effective then pushing out ads, coupons or the like. While the later can drive very short-term purchases, the former builds long-term brand loyalty. As Gregg sees it, one of the most effective ways to engage users is through fun mobile games. He thinks CPG firms can learn a thing or two from the big mobile companies out there today (think Zygna). He suggests that brands need to understand how they fit into their consumer’s lifestyle and build games around that. The key questions CPG firms should be asking are, “how can our brand help our consumers achieve their lifestyle goals and how can we build a game around that?” By building games that reward consumers for achieving goals or by simply building a game which is fun to play and where your brand is a major part of the gaming activities, will increase user engagement and thereby increase brand loyalty. A great example of this is Pepsi’s Brisksaber app that helped promote the Brisk ice tea brand.

I think we are going to see similar apps coming from a much larger range of brands. Be sure you are not left behind.

Moira Koch is a VP at Maia Strategy Group, where she leads consumer packaged goods engagements with an emphasis on retail insights. Prior to joining Maia Strategy Group, she was responsible for developing and launching Bluebeards Original, a premium line of Men’s beard care products sold in retail stores nationwide. Her latest whitepaper “How Mobile Technology is Changing the Retail Environment” is availablehere.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — A Takeda drug designed to treat hypertension was statistically superior to another drug combination in reducing systolic blood pressure among patients in a 10-week, late-stage clinical trial.

Published in the American Journal of Medicine, Takeda said a fixed-dose combination of its drug Edarbyclor (azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone) was significantly greater at six and 10 weeks than those of azilsartan medoxomil co-administered with hydrochlorothiazide. For instance, primary endpoint data showed that at week six, the clinic SBP reductions of the fixed-dose combination of azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone was 35.1 mm Hg, compared with 29.5 mm Hg among those taking azilsartan medoxomil and hydrochlorothiazide. At the end of 10 weeks, greater clinic SBP reductions were maintained in patients taking the fixed-dose combination of azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone (37.8 mm Hg) versus those taking azilsartan medoxomil and hydrochlorothiazide (32.8 mm Hg). Data also showed that more patients achieved their target blood-pressure levels at the end of six and 10 weeks (secondary endpoints) when taking the azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone fixed-dose combination.

"Hypertension management can be complex and the use of combination therapy with a diuretic is a common treatment approach,"said study co-author William Cushman, professor of preventive medicine at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, Tenn. "While hydrochlorothiazide is more commonly used in clinical practice, this study provides further support for the use of chlorthalidone in fixed-dose combination for patients with hypertension."

Stonyfield introduces new yogurt products

The company said that Stonyfield organic Oikos now is available in a variety of tasty flavors made with 1.5% fat organic milk, including pineapple, strawberry, raspberry and classic plain.

"As with anything in life, it’s about finding balance so it’s ideal to have options when deciding which Greek yogurt is right for you," said Mary Kennedy, a nutritionist and fitness specialist at Stonyfield. "The new 1.5% fat Stonyfield organic Oikos is a perfect standalone afternoon snack that will keep you feeling satisfied and stave off cravings until dinnertime."

In addition to the 1.5% fat line, Stonyfield said it also has added nonfat peach mango and superfruits pints to its organic Oikos Greek frozen yogurt line, and also has introduced a lemon flavor to its organic Oikos 0% fat Greek yogurt lineup, which currently includes chocolate and caramel flavors.

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